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Yes, a jib that is furled that much is going to be an ugly thing and won't point. Let a little more out and you'll have more power to punch through the waves and it will point better. Did you just have the furled jib? No main at all?

FYI, the other day was messing around with the boat. Had 20 to 25 knt winds and a rare very flat sea. With just the furling jib I could actually point very well. So conclusion is rough seas with just a jib, the boat will not point well because the wave action keeps pushing the bow off, just as you suggested. To lower the main I just back winded the jib (and remained hove to while I lowered and secured the main). The boat hoved to well with just the back winded partially reefed jib.

Regards

04-16-2012 02:12 PM

centaursailor

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

My Centaur can hove to nicley with just a bit of the head sail furled out.
In heavy weather I reduce both sails progresivly, have only a single reef main but it also rolls away on the boom but not a great shape so anything much over 20knt and its the iron main and a quick dash for the nearest harbour.
Safe sailing

04-03-2012 10:48 AM

Barquito

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

If you have a furling genoa, and only one reefing point in the main, the only choice may be to drop sail and motor. My most comfortable heavy weather set-up on my Catalina 22 was to reef the main (I only had one reef) and leave a little genoa unrolled. The small bit of genoa didn't help with drive, but kept the helm more balanced. If winds picked up more, I would just drop them and motor.

04-02-2012 09:54 PM

TQA

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

Well I sail a 44 foot cutter singlehanded a lot of the time. Roller furling headsail, hanked on staysail and the main is slab reefed. I have a Mack sails stack pack dutchmen style set up on the main. All halyards are on the mast. When I first got the boat I played around with it and found it would tack OK with just the main.

So if in a situation where I am engineless and need to put the boat somewhere under sail. The genoa would get furled, and I would then drop the staysail and tie it up. I would then work it up to where I want it to be having centralised the traveller so the main is self tacking. Right spot, head to wind the anchor goes down, I might back wind the main to back down on the anchor. I then would release the mainsail halyard and the main rattles down into the mack pack in seconds with a little assistance.

I had to do this for real once when the pulley fell of the raw water pump. I did have the comfort of knowing I could run the engine at low rpm for maybe 5 mins but it was not necessary.

I have also picked up a mooring under sail but two up. I reckon I could do it single handed if needs be.

Marinas and tight docks = no way would I try that, I would anchor off and get a tow in. Too expensive if you get it wrong.

I was sailing this last friday and winds were 25 knots gusts to over 30. I had a inexperienced crew on board so I decided to just use the furled jib brought out about 1/3 way or less. With this sail I could only sail about 60 or 70 degrees off ture wind direction. I was being pushed off the wind by 5 foot seas coming from the direction of the wind, but I was hoping to make better windward direction than this. Would you say this is normal for mast head sloop? With the main and jib I can sail about 40 degress or sometimes closer to true wind directioin.

Those conditions would overpower me and I wouldn't be out in them. Remember, I have a Catalina 25....I need to reef the main once we're steady above 20....at 25/30g I'd need a fully reef'd main and a storm jib, like a 75 or smaller. Combine that with 5' seas....yeah, no. Too much for me by myself in such a small boat. Now, if I was in a big nice 36-38 footer.....

04-02-2012 09:45 PM

Capt Len

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

Round up behind an island ,drop the pick and stay a day or two.

04-02-2012 09:23 PM

PaulinVictoria

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

Not much you can do really aside from sail off the wind more than normal.

Yes, a jib that is furled that much is going to be an ugly thing and won't point. Let a little more out and you'll have more power to punch through the waves and it will point better. Did you just have the furled jib? No main at all?

Yes just a furled jib with no main. At for a time the winds were 30 with gust to 35 knots. I really did not want to unfurl jib further (and when it was most windy, I reefed jib and only had about a 1/4 out) due to the loading on the rig. I wanted to put up the main to give some better sail balance, but with the winds as strong as they were (and predicted to get even stronger), we sailed for a while then headed into the dock.

With just a furling jib what would be the answer if caught in strong winds such as this?

04-02-2012 08:44 PM

PaulinVictoria

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

Quote:

I was sailing this last friday and winds were 25 knots gusts to over 30. I had a inexperienced crew on board so I decided to just use the furled jib brought out about 1/3 way or less. With this sail I could only sail about 60 or 70 degrees off ture wind direction. I was being pushed off the wind by 5 foot seas coming from the direction of the wind, but I was hoping to make better windward direction than this. Would you say this is normal for mast head sloop?

Yes, a jib that is furled that much is going to be an ugly thing and won't point. Let a little more out and you'll have more power to punch through the waves and it will point better. Did you just have the furled jib? No main at all?

04-02-2012 07:59 PM

WDS123

Re: Single Handing Made Easy - What Are Your Techniques?

On the size of boats one should be single handing - backing the main is relatively easy (push boom)

My biggest advice to single handers

GET A SMALLER BOAT

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